Wild Ride: An M/M Shifter Mpreg Romance Bundle

by Preston Walker

  He stared down the barrels of half a dozen guns, shaking with rage. A bullet is a bee sting, he reminded himself. He could handle a few bees. He roared, charging them at top speed. They fired. The bullets burned where they hit, and the human part of his brain screamed that he was dying, but he pressed on. He tossed a goon against the wall, snapping with fangs and slashing with claws. A burning pain radiated through his kidney, and he twisted with an outraged snarl to see what was touching him. A goon sneered and yanked a massive syringe out of his body. The world began to spin, and Forest collapsed onto the hard metal floor.

  He didn’t lose consciousness this time. He simply couldn’t move. Whatever they’d injected him with had paralyzed him so completely that he couldn’t even move his eyeballs. Four of them shoved him back into his cell. One of them kicked him hard in the face while another spat on him. Jane was crying in the hallway, and for a brief moment Forest felt guilty. He reminded himself that she was just as complicit in this as any of them.

  They slammed and locked the door, leaving him drooling on the floor.

  “Canisters,” he heard one of them say. “If you have to go in there for any reason, take two of us with you. Maybe four.”

  “Right, well... first things first,” he heard her say. “I’ll trot off to the infirmary and patch myself and Thompson up. You run and tell Animus what happened. We must have gotten the formula wrong. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Go on, then, what are you standing around for?”

  The crowd moved away down the hall, and Forest heard a second door close far away.

  “Nice job,” Uriel said approvingly. “That paralysis won’t last long. You know, you are the first person to come through here who ever tried that? I’m actually impressed, and that’s hard to do these days. I wonder how Animus will react? Maybe he’ll make you a turner. Then we could be accomplices to our own destruction together.”

  He sounds entirely too thrilled about that, Forest thought. One of these days, he’ll say something optimistic and rip a hole in the fabric of time and space.

  The paralysis had just begun to wear off when he heard footsteps running through the hallways. They were coming right for him. He couldn’t move more than his eyes, and he squeezed them closed and held his breath as a canister tumbled through the opening at the bottom of the door and began spraying a fine mist directly in his face. The spray was continual, outlasting his ability to hold his breath, and he was forced to suck in a mouthful of whatever it was. He held his breath again, and just when he thought he would burst or pass out, the canister stopped hissing. He blew out the breath and sucked in another, coating his tongue with the sticky sweet essence in the air. He swallowed against the taste.

  The room began to spin, and he felt that exhaustion in his bones that had overtaken him with every dosage. It wasn’t as sudden, nor as overwhelming, as it had been before. He moved his body, slowly, carefully, as it began to loosen. He rolled and writhed this way and that, trying to move his blood around enough to filter the drug before it could take effect.

  It was no use. Darkness crept in at the corners of his eyes, spreading quickly to the center, leaving him unconscious on the floor of his cell as his body changed in ways he would not be aware of until he’d awakened.

  “IS IT THERE?” FOREST heard Animus’ voice through a grey haze.

  “Yes, sir. Fully formed and it appears to be functional, though we won’t know until we’ve tested it.”

  “Has he bonded with forty-three?”

  “Seems so, sir.”

  “Very well. Put them in the tank.”

  “Together?”

  “Together. Switch the dosage. We are no longer domesticating this one.”

  “What... what are we doing with him, sir?”

  “Ah, I think the patient is waking. Use the pink regimen in the canisters.”

  “The canisters? But if they’re both in the tank...”

  “Then they’ll both be dosed. See that it happens.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Forest heard Animus quick, precise steps as he departed. He pried his eyes open, but the world was blurry and out of focus. He blinked several times, and it didn’t seem to help.

  “Bloody imbecile,” he heard Jane mutter. “Put the two most dangerous critters together, Jane. Pump them fulla hormones, Jane. Trust me, Jane... God, you’d think the man wanted me to get it. The pink regimen. Ha! Nice try, Animus, old boy, but that regimen won’t work. Not on these boys. They’re too smart. But no, he’s the man around here. He pays the bills. I’m just plain Jane, cannon fodder. I know you’re awake, snap out of it already,” she snapped at him.

  “Mm,” he said.

  He couldn’t open his mouth. He blinked again, and the world began to clear in small, isolated spots.

  “Sorry about that, love, but after that little outburst today I won’t work on you without a muzzle. You got yourself in a lot of trouble today, you know. You got Animus’ attention, and trust me, doll, nobody wants that. On the plus side, you’re developing rather quickly. Not that you would think it was a good thing, I’m sure. Anyway. Off to the tank with you, before you take a chunk out of somebody.”

  She thinks I’m dangerous? Forest thought, stunned. Not just dangerous, but one of the two most dangerous werewolves in the facility? Bad ass. He grinned sloppily behind his muzzle, and let his blurry eyes spin as he was wheeled down a number of corridors by a stern-looking goon. They came to a stop after a few minutes, and a rush of cool air blasted his face as the goon opened some kind of vertical hatch. He smelled damp earth, and wondered for a millisecond if he was being set free.

  In a quick motion, the goon ripped off his muzzle and pushed him off the bed. He fell for far longer than he should have, and landed with a thud in a pile of dirt. He blinked up at the goon, who was grinning down at him through a single, bright square that seemed to be floating in an abyss of nothingness. Then the goon closed the hatch, and Forest was enveloped in darkness. He moved his body, now that he could, and realized that he was still in his natural werewolf form. He didn’t feel angry and his heart wasn’t racing with adrenaline, so he wondered how it was possible for him to still look this way.

  He felt himself while his eyes adjusted to the darkness. They’d taken the grey pajamas. He was a naked werewolf, which made him feel a sort of vulnerable invulnerability, which would take him forever to sort out properly, so he just pushed the feeling aside. He turned his attention to the pit... or tank, as they’d called it... and ran his hands over the walls. They were earthen and moist, with no corners to speak of. He walked around the perimeter of the room, and it was all the same. Crumbling, wet earth, the occasional sheared-off tree root, and more than a couple worms that slithered over his fingers as he moved. His elongated, clawed feet sunk into the soil as he walked around the room. His first impulse was to start digging and see where it would lead, but he knew they must have made allowances for that. He didn’t think he would get very far if he tried.

  The hatch opened again, and something fell through. It was massive, pitch black, and covered in fur, and it fell to the floor silently. A sick feeling gripped Forest’s chest; what if this was where they buried the dead things? That would explain why it seemed to be so easy to escape from. He sniffed tentatively, surprising himself with the instinct. He didn’t smell death; what he did smell, however, were drugs. The drugs these people had been feeding them every single day. Whoever this was, he was in the same boat as Forest.

  Chapter Six

  Forest felt his way across the earthen floor to where the creature fell. He touched a furry arm with his foot and stopped, kneeling down beside the fallen werewolf.

  “Hey,” he said. “Are you awake? Or... alive?”

  The beast groaned, rolling over onto his back. “That damn paralysis,” he gasped. “Gonna kill me one of these days.”

  “Uriel?”

  “One and the same.”

  “Oh my God, what happened?”

  “After they took yo
u, there was a lot of talk just outside. Then I heard them toss the canister into your cell. About an hour later, they came back and did the same to me. I tried your thing, by the way. It almost worked. I should still be paralyzed, but I only got a portion of it. Anyway... they brought me here. No explanation, no nothing. Guess the two of us are just causing too much trouble in prison cells, they figured they would have to bury us alive.”

  “I’ve never been called dangerous before,” Forest said with a grin. “It’s kind of awesome.”

  “Yeah,” Uriel laughed. “About as awesome as a fork in the eye.” He rolled into a sitting position, and Forest squinted through the darkness at him. He had a strong face and big, glowing, golden eyes in his furry black head.

  “Wish they’d give us some light in here at least,” Forest sighed, resting his eyes.

  “What’s there to see?” Uriel asked. “Dirt, dirt, and more dirt?”

  “I would kind of like to see you,” Forest said awkwardly. “I mean... we’ve been talking for so long, and I never knew what you looked like because of the wall. Now I won’t know because of the darkness. Not that it matters,” he added quickly. “I’m just curious, that’s all.”

  “Well come here, then,” Uriel said. “There’s more than one way to get a picture in your head.”

  Forest’s heart pounded as he moved closer to Uriel. Underneath the taint of drugs, Uriel smelled like home. Not a home Forest had ever been to; the home of his dreams, where there is strength, and companionship, and peace. His mouth went dry as Uriel took his hands and pressed them to his face.

  “Feel around,” he said quietly. “See what you want to see.”

  Forest swallowed hard and blew out a shaky breath. He moved his fingers over Uriel’s wide, high cheekbones to his sensitive, pointed ears. He felt the strong, heavy brow that sloped down to his snout; velvety soft, apart from a wide scar between his eyes. Uriel’s fangs poked out over his lower lip, sending a shiver down Forest’s spine as he grazed over them. He ran his fingers through the thick mane at Uriel’s neck, down to his broad shoulders, incredibly defined pectorals, his muscular arms.

  Uriel shivered under his touch. When was the last time I let myself be touched like this? he asked himself. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Forest’s timid hands were awakening feelings he hadn’t felt for decades.

  “Keep going,” Uriel urged softly.

  Forest swallowed again and moved his hands back to Uriel’s torso. Uriel lay back, stretching out on the damp earth. Forest’s fingers explored his ultra-defined abs, his sharply cut hips, and his powerful thighs. Uriel grew painfully hard as Forest deliberately dodged his most sensitive area.

  “You’re wonderful,” Forest breathed.

  Uriel took Forest’s hand and drifted it lazily from one hip to the next, letting his fingers trail over his obvious pleasure.

  “So are you... as you can see,” he growled softly.

  “Oh,” Forest breathed.

  Uriel released his hand. “My turn,” he said.

  Forest placed Uriel’s hands on his face as Uriel had done. His heart threatened to pound clear out of his chest as Uriel took him in, inch by inch. Their faces were nearly touching, and Forest’s breath caught in his throat as Uriel moved to nuzzle his neck. Uriel explored as he had through his smaller mane, over his less-defined muscles. Forest hardened as Uriel swept his hands down his belly. Uriel pushed him back so he was lying in the dirt and continued to explore. Forest gasped as Uriel gripped his hip, then sighed as he slid his hands over his thighs.

  “If they kill us in here,” Uriel asked absently. “What will be your one regret?”

  Forest trembled. The longer he was imprisoned, the more regrets he had; but if he could make up for the lack of attachment in his life, even a little bit before he died, it might make a small dent in them.

  “If I died right now? I would regret that I didn’t have the courage to ask you for more.”

  “And if you died in an hour?”

  Forest swallowed hard. “If you made love to me in that hour, I wouldn’t have any regrets at all.”

  Uriel could tell that what he said was almost true. Almost was good enough for him. He slowly slid his hands back up Forest’s thighs to his hard heat, sliding his palm over it.

  “Glorious,” Uriel growled. “It’s been so long...”

  Forest wanted him, desperately. Uriel didn’t wait for him to ask. He lowered his head and suddenly Forest’s cock was enveloped in his hot, wet tongue. Forest moaned, reaching out instinctively to drag his claws through Uriel’s mane. Uriel maintained a slow, steady pleasure, bringing Forest near his peak and holding him there until Forest was whimpering in the exquisite pain of too much pleasure.

  “Too much?” Uriel whispered hoarsely, sliding up Forest’s body until they were nose-to-nose.

  “Not enough,” Forest gasped.

  “I can fix that.”

  Uriel slid inside of him so suddenly that he barely knew what was happening. Ecstasy exploded in his brain as Uriel took him, and he cried out his name as he tangled himself around Uriel’s powerful torso. Uriel growled and clamped his teeth into Forest’s shoulder, digging into a rhythm as he rocketed them both through dizzying hills and valleys of pleasure. Forest felt himself grow thick and heavy with need as pleasure pooled like molten gold in the pit of his belly. Uriel’s growl became a whimper, sending Forest over the edge into a glorious cascade of all-consuming bliss.

  They lay together, panting, locked in their embrace. Uriel nuzzled his neck and Forest murmured nonsense as he floated on a senseless cloud of ecstasy. He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but he wouldn’t have minded dying there, just like that, surrounded by Uriel, filled with Uriel. He nuzzled, wishing for his human face, desperate for a kiss. Like magic, his werewolf form began to melt away at the thought, and he felt Uriel shrink and smooth in his arms as he also shifted. Uriel took his mouth in his, crushing his lips, battling his tongue.

  “God, I’ve been wanting to do this since the moment I met you,” Uriel growled into his mouth. “You’re so fucking pretty.”

  “Pretty... dangerous... I’m getting all kinds of new labels today,” Forest sighed happily.

  Uriel chuckled. Forest stroked Uriel’s newly-smooth face, feeling how his human appearance was consistent with his wolf appearance. The strong brow, the high cheekbones, even the scar on his nose. His eyes no longer glowed as brightly as they had, but two thin golden rings encircled his irises, illuminating their chocolaty brown. Forest was drawn into his eyes and didn’t realize immediately that he was staring.

  “You’re a strange one, Forest,” Uriel murmured.

  “Now there’s a label I’m familiar with,” Forest replied, masking the quick flash of hurt.

  “I meant it as a compliment,” Uriel smiled. “I’ve never known someone so intent to march to his own beat that the easy options didn’t even occur to him. You’ve turned this place upside down, and it hardly took you any time at all.”

  “What do you think they’ll do with us?” Forest asked.

  “Who knows.” Uriel shrugged. “Maybe they’re going to leave us in here to rot so we can’t get out and cause any more trouble.”

  “How high up do you think that hatch is?”

  “Twenty feet, about,” Uriel told him. “I was mostly paralyzed, but I could count the seconds. I don’t think we’d be able to climb it, not with the walls in this condition.”

  “Any thoughts on where we are in the complex?”

  He had a vague idea, but he couldn’t be certain without more information. He needed his senses to be heightened to their fullest. So he pushed off of Forest and shifted, and began to sniff the walls and floor, closing his eyes to take in something that Forest couldn’t sense. He circled the room three times before sitting in the center.

  “Cover your ears,” he told Forest.

  Forest did, and just in time. Uriel let out an earth-shattering howl, loud and wild enough to rattle his bones and make h
is teeth chatter. It tugged at something inside him, something new and so incredibly ancient, which urged him to stay beside Uriel, to follow his rule, to protect him at all costs. It brought tears to Forest’s eyes even as it threatened to shatter his eardrums. The walls began to crumble, sliding down to fill the room, and Forest darted into the center with Uriel. That’s when he heard it. The echo of the howl, bouncing back at them from three sides of the room. Uriel snapped his mouth shut, listening intently.

  Seconds passed, and Forest couldn’t hear a thing. Uriel stiffened suddenly, turning his head toward the left. He howled again, and Forest barely had time to slap his hands over his ears. This howl didn’t last nearly as long, and Uriel was still listening to something that Forest couldn’t hear. Suddenly, Uriel leapt from his spot on the floor and began tearing into the dirt opposite from the hatch.

  “What’s going on?” Forest asked.

  “Bianca. She’s answering me. Shift, help me, we have to go this way.”

  Forest didn’t ask any more questions. He shifted, shoveling the dirt into the pit behind them, increasing his speed to match Uriel’s frantic pace. They had burrowed three feet into the wall when they were blasted back by some electric force, slamming into the wall directly under the hatch with enough force to pop it open. The dim light hurt Forest’s eyes after spending so long in utter darkness, and he winced.

  “What the hell was that?” Uriel asked angrily.

  “Felt like some kind of forcefield,” Forest groaned. “Electric fence, without the fence.”

  Uriel cursed.